The Berlin Logistics expert Time Freight is entering the passenger business. He wants to significantly expand the fleet of his subsidiary WDL.

An article by Oliver Graue. 

The launch had been planned for many years. "For us, aviation is an ideal complement to road freight transport," says Wolfram Simon, CEO and co-owner of Zeitfracht. "On the ground, traffic is getting heavier and regulations are becoming stricter." The concrete opportunity to take to the skies presented itself in 2017: the Berlin-based logistics company acquired both the cargo division of the insolvent Air Berlin and the Cologne-based airline WDL. This was the first time many in the passenger aviation industry in particular had heard the name Zeitfracht - and even WDL, although founded in 1974, flew under the radar of many industry experts. However, the aircraft of the Swiss Skywork would probably also belong to the Berliners today if the Swiss had not saved themselves at the last minute.

AIR TRAVEL, is the simple name of the Group's new holding company founded in 2017 - alongside the existing three divisions of Logistics with a total of over 500 lorries and public transport buses, Real Estate and Technology. The Group is "governed" from a building in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Simon has his office there and is the third generation to continue the work of company founder Horst Walter Schröter, who passed away in 2013. Simon, 37 years old, runs Zeitfracht together with his wife Jasmin Schröter. The two want to expand on the ideas that Schröter, the founder from Stendal in the Altmark, once developed and transfer them to aviation: Schröter - co-founder of the German parcel service DPD - used free loading areas on scheduled lorries to transport parcels.

Wetlease fleet grows significantly

Simon and his team of over 1,000 employees have developed a corresponding model for aviation. They have identified the free space with the low-cost airlines. Due to the short ground times, they have not been able to load any freight to date. Zeitfracht wants to change this: With the help of a new method, small packages can be loaded so quickly that the low-cost airlines can meet their tight turnaround times. For a long time now, the company has been loading traditional holiday airlines, such as TUI and Thomas Cook. Romania's Blue Air is a recent addition. The 29 B737 aircraft load time cargo with "perishable, expensive freight for which travelling by land or sea is not an option or is no longer an alternative".

The mix of cargo and passenger traffic is only one thing. The other is the expansion of the pure passenger business. The business model of the Cologne-based subsidiary WDL Aviation with its 130 employees consists of wet leasing in addition to chartering: WDL operates flights for other airlines with its three BAe 146200 (Jumbolino) aircraft with around 100 seats. Wolfram Simon has just purchased another Jumbolino to meet customer demand: The cuddly four-jet aircraft are considered robust and reliable and are popular with passengers due to their comfortable seating. The identification of the aircraft acquired from the British charter airline Cello Aviation - Foxtrot Romeo, i.e. FR - shows "that it is the very first aircraft that we are putting into service as time freight," says the 37-year-old.

Further aircraft have already been ordered: The Jumbolinos will soon be joined by twin-engine regional jets. The company is planning a total fleet size of ten aircraft. In terms of personnel, however, it has strengthened its ranks with a number of Air Berlin managers. Many of them previously worked at Germania (Gexx), which was founded by Hinrich Bischoff. There is no question that Zeitfracht wants to establish itself as a professional player in passenger flights. To emphasise this intention, WDL joined both the Federal Association of German Airlines (BDF) and the Board of Airline Representatives in Germany (Barig) in recent weeks.

WOLFRAM SIMON IS PROUD He is keen to keep the SME flag flying high in aviation - in an industry that is diametrically opposed to the traditional German SME structure. "We are the only airline in Germany that is still completely family-run," he says. And one of the very few niche airlines: "We don't offer mass-produced goods. We focus on service and want to show our passengers that flying is still something special."

Simon and his wife want to be guided by the values of the German Mittelstand. "Firstly, we strive for slow and healthy growth," he says. "Secondly, we don't want to be disruptive, and thirdly, we never live beyond our means." We only buy "what we can afford". The sale of the DPD stake at the end of 2016 is likely to have provided him with important funds for his entry into aviation. Simon, it seems, is sure of himself. For him, what is written on the chocolate that WDL guests receive when they disembark applies: "Et hätt noch emmer jot jejange".

A portrait of two companies

Time freight was founded over 70 years ago by Horst Walter Schröter, the son of a freight forwarder in Stendal. Since the 1970s, the family-run logistics service provider has taken over various freight forwarders and was one of the founders of the German parcel service DPD in 1976. Today, the group consists of 21 companies, which are mainly active in the logistics, aviation and property sectors. The company's approximately 1000 employees generate an annual turnover of more than 200 million euros.

WDL, Founded in 1974 by Theodor Wüllenkemper, it was taken over by Zeitfracht in 2017. For several years, the Cologne-based company flew on behalf of Airbus in passenger transport. In addition to charter flights, it now operates wet lease routes for customers such as Easyjet, Air FranceKLM and SAS. The fleet consists of four aircraft.